This thread is for reports on the legitimacy of Medical Cannabis /

Please do NOT post something here unless it pertains to the thread topic

I am NOT looking for personal testomonies - I only want all the evidance compiled we can to support Medical Cannabis - this will include Medical breakthoughs & any current or past evedance for the legitamacy of Medical Cannabis /

I am SOON confronting my pastor on the chuches endorsement of Medical &
I want ammo for battle.\

(he is supervisor over 40 churches & on our demonations boards)

GW's Phase III Cannabis trials Preview;

GW's Phase III trials programme consist of nine randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trials. Positive results have been reported from the first six Phase III trials to complete which involved approximately 660 patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis ("MS") and neuropathic pain. The remaining trials are expected to report around the end of 2004.

Results from the first four completed trials were announced in November 2002. In these trials, the THC:CBD medicine (Sativex) achieved statistically significant reductions in neuropathic pain in comparison with placebo in patients with MS and other conditions, as well as statistically significant improvements in other symptoms of MS, most notably spasticity and sleep disturbance. These findings are consistent with results from Phase II trials. Certain data from these trials has already been published in peer review journals and further publications are expected in the coming months.

During June 2004, GW announced positive results for the next two studies to complete - spasticity in MS and neuropathic pain.

Spasticity (spasms and stiffness) is one of the most common symptoms of MS occurring in as many as three-quarters of people with MS (source: MS Society). Spasticity can affect many aspects of daily life, such as walking and sitting. It can range from mild to severe and change over time, often from day to day, hour to hour. The phase III study of Sativex® on spasticity in 189 patients showed a statistically significant improvement in comparison with placebo with spasticity as measured on a numerical rating scale (p<0.05), the primary endpoint in the study. Other secondary outcome measures, such as the Ashworth scale, were in favour of Sativex but did not reach statistical significance. Again all patients remained on their existing medication during the course of the trial. In this trial, the safety profile was consistent to that shown in previous Sativex studies with adverse events being generally mild or moderate in intensity.

The trial of Sativex® in 125 patients with neuropathic (nerve damage) pain characterised by allodynia showed a statistically significant improvement in comparison to placebo in pain as measured on a numerical rating scale (p<0.01), the primary endpoint of the study. In addition, positive results were obtained in the majority of secondary outcome measures including allodynia* (p<0.05), pain disability index (p<0.01), quality of sleep (p<0.01), and patients' global impression of change (p<0.01). In addition to study medication, all patients remained on their existing medication during the course of the trial so that any benefit was benefit seen over and above that which they usually obtain from their pre-trial existing medication.

In addition to these six completed trials, GW has a further three Phase III trials which are scheduled to report before the end of 2004. These trials include the following:


Bladder dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis
Pain in Spinal Cord Injury
Cancer pain

*Allodynia is the occurrence of pain in response to a normally non-painful stimulus (e.g. clothes touching against the skin). It is often intense and can occur in patients suffering from a range of conditions that damage the peripheral nerves (e.g. diabetes, post-herpetic neuralgia) and is a highly reliable marker of neuropathic pain.

Published Reference:
Multiple Sclerosis 2004; 10: pages 434-441 (www. Multiplesclerosisjournal.com)


https://www.gwpharm.com/research_phase_iii.asp

Organizations Supporting Access to Therapeutic Cannabis

https://www.medicalcannabis.com/Grouplist.htm

Administrative Judge Urges Medicinal Use of Marijuana; DEA Expected to Reject Call for Limited Legalization

Note: Our ballot measure will allow doctors to prescribe cannabis to any patient who requires it to treat a condition.

The Washington Post
September 8, 1988
By Michael Isikoff

A Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge, calling marijuana "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man," recommended yesterday that the drug be made legally available for some medical purposes, including treatment of cancer patients.

If adopted, the opinion by Judge Francis L. Young would mean that doctors could prescribe marijuana--a fundamental change in the drug's legal status that some specialists said could aid tens of thousands of patients suffering from nausea-inducing chemotherapy and muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis.

The opinion is not likely to have any immediate effect because DEA Administrator John C. Lawn is considered almost certain to reject Young's conclusions (he did). Nevertheless, coming after a 16- year legal battle, the 69-page ruling marks the first time a government official has accepted a medical role for the country's widely used illicit drug.

"The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision," Young wrote. "It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record."

The long-awaited ruling was immediately criticized by DEA lawyers and antidrug groups who said it would send a confusing message at a time the federal government is attempting to wage a war on drugs. DEA officials also said the ruling ran counter to the body of accepted medical opinion. "This totally ignores the bulk of the medical evidence," said Stephen E. Stone, associate counsel of DEA, which had fought changing marijuana's classification. "The judge seems to hang his hat on what he calls a 'respectable minority of physicians.' What percent are you talking about? One half of 1 percent? One quarter of 1 percent?

"From our point of view, marijuana has not been established as a safe and effective drug," Stone added.

Young's ruling, which cites medical researchers from Harvard, New York University and other leading medical schools, comes in the form of a recommendation to Lawn to change the status of marijuana under the 1970 Controlled Substance Act. Ever since the act was passed, marijuana has been classified with heroin and LSD as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, which means it is an illegal drug with no known medical use.

Young recommends that Lawn use discretionary authority to make marijuana a Schedule 2 substance. This means it would become a drug--like morphine and cocaine--that, while still unavailable to the general public, can be prescribed by doctors for limited purposes.

A DEA spokesman and said yesterday that Lawn would not comment on the ruling until he has a chance to review it. Even if he rejects the recommendation, however, lawyers for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and other pro-marijuana groups said Young's ruling would provide a powerful evidence to overturn a rejection in federal court.

"This is the most significant victory that one can imagine," said Robert C. Randall, president of the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, a group that joined with NORML and the Drug Policy Foundation in petitioning DEA for the ruling. "For the first in over half a century, the federal government is viewing marijuana in a rational context . . . not just saying it's something evil."

In his opinion, Young cited a number of medical experts and patients as a basis for his conclusion that marijuana's medical use was "clear beyond any question" Their testimony showed that marijuana helped suppress nausea and vomiting experienced by chemotherapy patients, was a "highly successful appetite stimulant" and was widely--if illicitly--used in some hospitals.

"This successful use of marijuana has given many cancer chemotherapy patients a much more positive outlook on their overall treatment," Young wrote, adding that smoking marijuana was far more effective than taking pills with synthetic THC, the active ingredient in the drug.

Young found similar benefits for using marijuana to control muscle spasms suffered by patients with multiple sclerosis, spasticity and hyperparathyroidism, a painful hormonal disorder that causes bone spurs. But Young rejected permitting marijuana for treatment of glaucoma, saying there is insufficient evidence that many physicians support such a move. At the core of Young's ruling, however, was his conclusion that the dangers of marijuana do not outweigh its medical benefits. While agreeing that marijuana "can be harmful" and "abused," he noted there is still not a documented death caused by the drug. "In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume," he wrote.

*Marijuana ingredient may help Alzeheimer's

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Chemical Counters Brain Problems in Alzheimer's Disease, Says Spanish Study

Feb. 23, 2005 -- New clues about Alzheimer's disease have emerged from a Spanish study of marijuana. The drug's active ingredients -- cannabinoids -- help prevent brain problems seen in Alzheimer's, say the scientists.

There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, which progressively damages brain areas involved in memory, judgment, language, and behavior. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of mental decline, or dementia, in older adults.

The new study didn't test cannabinoids on people living with Alzheimer's disease. Instead, the researchers focused on human brain tissue samples and conducted cannabinoid experiments on rats.

The findings showed that "cannabinoids work both to prevent inflammation and to protect the brain," says researcher Maria de Ceballos in a news release. That "may set the stage for [cannabinoids'] use as a therapeutic approach for [Alzheimer's disease]."

A staff member at Madrid's Cajal Institute, de Ceballos conducted the study with colleagues from nearby Complutense University. Their results appear in the Feb. 23 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Marijuana, Alzheimer's Disease, and the Human Brain

The researchers studied human brain tissue samples, some of which were from deceased Alzheimer's patients and some from normal brain tissue.

The typical features seen in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's disease are called plaques. Plaques are protein clumps that are seen outside brain cells, and they have been shown to activate inflammation seen in brain tissue of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Besides the typical plaques seen with Alzheimer's disease, the brain tissues taken from Alzheimer's patients also had many fewer cannabinoid receptors.

Significant changes in the location, expression, and function of cannabinoid receptors may play a role in Alzheimer's disease, write the researchers.

That could mean that the patients had lost the capacity to experience cannabinoids' protective effects, says the news release.

Marijuana and Alzheimer's Mental Decline

The researchers also injected rats with a protein called beta-amyloid, which gave the rats an Alzheimer's-like brain condition.

Some of the same rats were also injected with a cannabinoid. For comparison, other rats got injections of an unrelated protein along with beta-amyloid.

After two months, the rats were tested for learning, memory, and mental functions. The researchers tried to train them to find a platform in a tank of water. The rats had two minutes to find the platform. If they failed, the researchers briefly put the rats on the platform. Four times a day for five days, the rats practiced.

By the fifth day, the rats that received the cannabinoid injections were able to find the platform on their own. Those that didn't get the cannabinoid injections didn't learn to find the platform.

Another interesting result also surfaced. The cannabinoids completely prevented activation of cells that trigger inflammation. These cells gather near plaque and are believed to be involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

"Our results indicate that cannabinoid receptors are important in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease and that cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in the disease," write the researchers in the journal.

They plan to focus future studies on a cannabinoid receptor that's unrelated to marijuana's "high," says the news release.


Chemical Counters Brain Problems

*origanal IC post by Amsterdam